Ink and Incantations
by FeatherScarlet73
Summary: It's just after the battle of Hogwarts and everyone is ajusting to their new lives. The weasly's are mourning over the loss of Fred, and the younger generations... well, they are exploring  new love... ENJOY!
1. No More Fred

So, that was it.

Right there, right then.

They won the war; the war that the Wizarding world had been fighting for almost 50 years; the war Harry's parents died for; the war that killed so many innocent people; the war that changed wizarding history forever.

And they won it. They won! Voldemort was gone, dead, vanished. He would never be seen again. He would only be known in wizarding history, in books, taught in lessons.

Yet, it was hard to be happy. When all should be celebrating, rejoicing – but every person involved felt loss, felt something missing.

And this was more than true for the Weaslys. They all knew it should be a happy time. A time to dance, sing and be merry. But each felt this task was truly impossible with the absence of such an important member, Fred.

Of course it didn't seem real to any of them yet. George would ask the air next to him a question, expecting a reply from his lost brother, say something and expected to hear the next line, or the same thing repeated in his ear. But yet, these moments never came. And George could wait forever, but deep down; he knew they never would again.


	2. The burrow

Two days had been and gone since they won the war. The Weaslys, bar Percy, Bill and Charlie, were all staying in the Burrow, along with Harry and Hermione. Although George had a flat in Hogsmeade (above him and his late brothers joke shop), Molly persuaded him to stay with them – despite countless arguments saying he was alright on his own. George (although he would never admit it) was glad that his mum persuaded him to stay in the Burrow. He knew it would be too hard to go back to the flat he once shared with his twin brother, to see the empty twin bed next to his own, and the possessions belonging to Fred.

It was difficult for all of them. Sometimes Harry would come down stairs to see Molly crying into a handkerchief. She claimed it was 'allergies' or 'the dust' and then got busy cleaning the house up, but Harry (and everyone else too, for that matter) knew they were tears mourning her dead son, and cleaning was only a way for her to keep her mind off the lost part of her soul.

At the time, they all felt as if they would never be truly happy again, George especially. He would wake up and look for his brother, knowing he wasn't there, almost as if he was searching for memories -desperately trying not to forget Fred, not to let him go. He would scream in the night, cry out for his lost brother. Once, Molly even heard him cry, but not just small tears, he was weeping, sobbing, uncontrollably mourning for his other half. No one would ever mention they saw George like this, and after these episodes he would come down and act cheery, as if all was fine. But everyone knew it was not.

Ron now had Hermione of course, and Ginny had Harry. They all tried to keep happy faces on for each other, to make each other feel better – but no good or honesty came from hiding behind a false facade. They loved each other though, and that was clear. Both couples were head over heels for each other. Every time one or the other came into the room they're face would light up. It really was what kept the Weaslys, and their 2 extra residents, going – family, love and friendship.


	3. The Search

**A/N: sorry this one took me longer to put up … but good news! Next one is already written so it won't be long until you see it here. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and alerted. I hope you like this chapter, I am sorry if (after the next one) I won't be able to upgrade for a while but I am very busy! Want your chapters quicker – one solution:**

**R.E.V.I.E.W!**

**ENJOY!**

Unsurprisingly, Ron was still unsure though. He loved Hermione, he was sure about that. But he couldn't understand why she would love him back? Why on earth would someone as intelligent, witty, clever, funny and beautiful as she, love someone like him? He wasn't handsome, or smart, he failed tests and was only mildly good at one subject (DADA). He just couldn't understand it. He thought he didn't mean as much to Hermione as she did to him, and he didn't trust that she wanted to stay with him.

He needed proof - something to tell him to stop going after someone who didn't love him back. He needed something to tell him his thoughts were true, and he was just as hopeless as he thought. So, that's exactly what he went looking for…

A week after they arrived at the Burrow Molly asked someone to go out and get some supplies from Diagon Ally. She knew Hermione needed some new clothes, as did Ginny, there were a few books she wanted (as with Hermione too), and some ingredients she had written on a list. Hermione noticed that these were extremely like the ingredients to the elixir to induce euphoria and dreamless sleep potion, but she didn't point this out to Ginny.

Molly asked all the children if they wanted to go, but Harry wanted to stay behind to get back on a broom and practice his quidditch skills (he didn't realize until he returned he hadn't played for almost a year) and Ron saw this as a golden opportunity to seek what he had been looking for. Obviously he didn't use this as his excuse, and said he wasn't feeling well or something, he didn't really remember.

So, now was Ron's chance. Harry was outside, zooming around on one of the Weaslys old broomsticks. Harry felt so free and alive back on the broom – it was definitely not the best broom in the world but it would do. Ron could tell Harry wouldn't be coming off for some time, judging by the massive smile on his face. Molly was in the kitchen, tidying everything away for Bill and Fleur's visit. Arthur was at work, and George, well he had gone to visit the joke shop for the first time since Fred's death. And Ginny and Hermione were at Diagon Ally. He would never be a better opportunity


	4. The Book

**A/N: So, a very long chapter from me!**

**I think this is what you've been asking for… this one is a bit different. Still no dialogue... Sorry! Hopefully I will put some in the next chapter. I feel bad updating 2 chapters at once and then not any for ages! I am sorry that I can't update the next one sooner, but life has challenges! Please review- the only way to get the next one quicker! Oh, and I forgot – haven't done a disclaimer on any of these stories :o here goes:**

**Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter? Yeah right – gonna need some Sirius* magic to make that one come true**

***GET MY JOKE? HAHAH**

So there he was. At the door of the room Ginny and Hermione shared. Ron had no idea what he was looking for, just something, some sort of sign to tell him how Hermione felt about him. He needed something to tell him to stop going for her, and to leave her and let her be happy, but at the same time he wished and hoped for something small, to tell him she loved him too.

Ron entered the room. He felt bad about doing this, sneaking around behind his girlfriend's (and sister's) back. He knew it was bad, but he had too. He had to do it. Now he was at her desk, riffling through pieces of parchment, letters, quills, ink jars and books. Lots and lots of books. Some were text books (he noticed Hogwarts, a History and A standard book of spells grade 7 along with others he didn't recognize), some historical, some fiction, he noticed a few muggle books too, others were note books, filled with illegible scrawls, he looked through some but the only word he noticed were 'BASILISK' in a very young Hermione's writing. Ron laughed, he loved some of the old things she kept there, but still none of them were what he was looking for.

He carried on searching, it was unlike Hermione to have such a messy desk, he thought. He really did look, he opened books and notepads, read letters and sheets of parchment, and he even scanned over essays she had written in Hogwarts for some kind of clue! His job was made even more difficult by the fact that he had no idea what he was looking for.

He found nothing. 'One more search' he said as he began to feel very disappointed. He picked up a large copy of 'Magical beasts and where to find them' when a thin leather note book, tied up with a worn out piece of string, neatly tied with a bow on the front, fell out from behind the dust jacket. Ron picked it up and unraveled it carefully, he had a feeling from where this was hiding Hermione wouldn't want anybody looking at this. He opened it and a huge grin spread over his face as he read the first page:** This book is (extremely secretly) dedicated to the arrogant prat (oh, and the love of my life) Ronald Weasly.**

**And I hope to Godric Gryphidor he never sees this, because I know that smug look would be impossible to wipe of his, charming, face.**

Ron couldn't stop smiling now. He found it! He found it! It was exactly what he was looking for. But yet, he felt like he had to go on. He had to read more. Something was pulling Ron to the pages of this book. And now that he started, he just couldn't stop reading. And it wasn't until he reached the next page, that he realized he had found what he needed, and the one thing that made Ron know Hermione loved him as much as he loved her.

A song for Ronald:

For when I'm with you, standing here

All feels right, and good, and clear

And I know everything is perfect

For when I'm with you I have no fear

And I would spend every day

Working all my life away

Knowing that you are by my side

And that you love me enough to say

I love you Hermione I really do,

I want to spend my life with you

You're my everything, you really are

And to you I will always be true

And we will bicker and we will fight

And always try as we might

It won't last, our loves to strong

Because Ronald, you're my wing, you're my flight.

And on reading that last verse, a tear shed from Ron's eye, landed on the paper and the ink ran down the page. He didn't care. He didn't care in the slightest, because that's all he could have ever wanted to hear, from the person he most wanted to hear it from.


End file.
